The Life of Trust: Being a Narrative of the Lord's Dealings With George Müller

George Müller

The Life of Trust

Being a Narrative of the Lord's Dealings With George Müller

Published by Good Press, 2022

goodpress@okpublishing.info

EAN 4057664639486

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION.

CHAPTER I.

BOYHOOD AND YOUTH.

CHAPTER II.

THE PRODIGAL’S RETURN.

CHAPTER III.

CHAPTER IV.

LEANING ON JESUS.

CHAPTER V.

MINISTRY AT BRISTOL BEGUN.

CHAPTER VI.

THE SCRIPTURAL KNOWLEDGE INSTITUTION.

CHAPTER VII.

HOME FOR DESTITUTE ORPHANS.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE FIELD WIDENING.

CHAPTER IX.

TRIAL.

CHAPTER X.

DELIVERANCE.

CHAPTER XI.

ASKING AND RECEIVING.

CHAPTER XII.

PLENTY AND WANT.

CHAPTER XIII.

FAITH STRENGTHENED BY EXERCISE.

CHAPTER XIV.

WALKING IN DARKNESS.

CHAPTER XV.

PROSPERITY.

CHAPTER XVI.

STEWARDSHIP.

CHAPTER XVII.

REAPING BOUNTIFULLY.

CHAPTER XVIII.

FAITH CONFIRMED BY PROSPERITY.

CHAPTER XIX.

CONTINUED MERCIES.

CHAPTER XX.

A NEW VICTORY OF FAITH.

CHAPTER XXI.

UNVARYING PROSPERITY.

CHAPTER XXII.

REAPING IN JOY.

CHAPTER XXIII.

THREE YEARS OF PROSPERITY.

CHAPTER XXIV.

CONCLUSION.

APPENDIX.

VALUABLE WORKS

GOULD AND LINCOLN,

VALUABLE WORKS.

WORKS FOR CHURCH MEMBERS.

GOULD AND LINCOLN

CHAPTER I.

Boyhood and Youth.

1805-1825.

BIRTH--EARLY DISHONESTY--INSENSIBILITY--CONFIRMATION IN THE STATE CHURCH--DISSOLUTENESS OF LIFE--THE HARD WAY OF TRANSGRESSORS--THE GYMNASIUM AT NORDHAUSEN--THE UNIVERSITY AT HALLE--ROVINGS31

CHAPTER II.

The Prodigal’s Return.

1825-1826.

A TREASURE FOUND--DAWNING OF THE NEW LIFE--THE PEACE OF GOD--I AM COME TO SET A MAN AT VARIANCE AGAINST HIS FATHER--LET HIM THAT HEARETH SAY, COME--THE FIRST SERMON--DELIGHT IN THE LORD--A COMMON ERROR--THE FOUNTAIN NEGLECTED38

CHAPTER III.

Self-Dedication.

1826-1829.

DESIRE FOR MISSIONARY LABOR--PROVIDENTIAL RELEASE FROM MILITARY SERVICE--VISIT AT HOME--LED TO THE LAND OF HIS FUTURE LABORS--PROGRESS IN RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE--DESIRE FOR IMMEDIATE USEFULNESS47

CHAPTER IV.

Leaning on Jesus.

1830-1832.

A DOOR OPENED--TOKENS FOR GOOD--TRUST EXERCISED IN THE STUDY AND MINISTRY OF THE WORD--THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT--TRUSTING IN GOD FOR DAILY BREAD--BLESSEDNESS OF WAITING UPON THE LORD--OWE NO MAN--ACCORDING TO YOUR FAITH BE IT UNTO YOU--THE GIFT OF FAITH AND THE GRACE OF FAITH 58

CHAPTER V.

Ministry at Bristol Begun.

1832-1833.

HERE HAVE WE NO CONTINUING CITY--CAUTION TO THE CHRISTIAN TRAVELLER--NEW TOKENS FOR GOOD--THE WAY MADE CLEAR--MEETINGS FOR INQUIRY--NO RESPECT OF PERSONS WITH GOD--FRANCKE, BEING DEAD, YET SPEAKETH--DAILY BREAD SUPPLIED--A PECULIAR PEOPLE 80

CHAPTER VI.

The Scriptural Knowledge Institution.

1834-1835.

UNSCRIPTURAL CHARACTER OF THE EXISTING RELIGIOUS AND BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES--A NEW INSTITUTION PROPOSED--GOD’S WORD THE ONLY RULE, AND GOD'S PROMISE THE ONLY DEPENDENCE--IN EVERYTHING LET YOUR REQUEST BE MADE KNOWN UNTO GOD--EARNEST OF THE DIVINE BLESSING ON THE INSTITUTION--BEREAVEMENT--HELPER SEASONABLY SENT--REWARD OF SEEKING GOD’S FACE 94

CHAPTER VII.

Home for Destitute Orphans.

1835-1836.

FRANKE’S WORKS FOLLOW HIM--A GREAT UNDERTAKING CONCEIVED--REASONS FOR ESTABLISHING AN ORPHAN HOUSE--PRAYER FOR GUIDANCE--TREASURE LAID UP IN HEAVEN IN PRAYER AND IN FAITH THE WORK IS BEGUN 111

CHAPTER VIII.

The Field Widening.

1836-1837.

AN UNEXPECTED OBSTACLE--IMPLICIT SUBMISSION--A SECOND ORPHAN HOUSE PROPOSED--AN ENCOURAGING TEXT--THE NEW ORPHAN HOUSE OPENED--COMPLETED ANSWER TO PRAYER--PROGRESS OF THE LORD’S WORK--THE OVERSIGHT OF THE FLOCK 125

CHAPTER IX.

Trial.

1838.

THE MINISTRY OF SICKNESS--PEACE OF MIND--JESUS A PRESENT HELP--DEEP POVERTY--PLEADING WITH GOD--UNITED PRAYER 138

CHAPTER X.

Deliverance.

1838.

PERPLEXED BUT NOT IN DESPAIR--FAITH JUSTIFIED--A LESSON OF OBEDIENCE--BOUNTIFUL SUPPLIES--SPIRITUAL INGATHERING--A DAY OF MERCIES--TIMELY AID--A SEASON OF PLENTY--OBEDIENCE REWARDED 151

CHAPTER XI.

Asking and Receiving.

1839.

HELP FOR THE POOR SAINTS--THE UNFAILING BANK--MEANS EXHAUSTED--LIBERALITY OF A LABORING SISTER--HE KNOWETH OUR FRAME--REDEEMING THE TIME--GODLINESS PROFITABLE UNTO ALL THINGS 167

CHAPTER XII.

Plenty and Want.

1840.

A PURE OFFERING REQUIRED--A JOURNEY PROPOSED--SEASONABLE PROVISION--LOOKING ONLY TO THE LORD--THE WRATH OF MAN PRAISING GOD--A PROMISE FULFILLED--BENEFIT OF TRIAL--NEW SPRINGS OPENED--BEFORE THEY CALL I WILL ANSWER--TRUST IN GOD COMMENDED--SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS 181

CHAPTER XIII.

Faith Strengthened by Exercise.

1841.

A WANT SUPPLIED--RESOURCES EXCEEDING THE DEMAND--EVIL OF SURETYSHIP--POWER OF CHRISTIAN LOVE--GOD’S WORD THE FOOD OF THE SOUL--PREPARATION FOR THE HOUR OF TRIAL--POVERTY--DEPENDING ONLY ON THE LIVING GOD 200

CHAPTER XIV.

Walking in Darkness.

1841-1842.

GOD'S WAY LEADS INTO TRIAL--GROUNDS OF THANKFULNESS--PROTRACTED DARKNESS--CAST DOWN, BUT NOT DESTROYED--TRUST IN GOD COMMENDED--THE MEANS OF ITS ATTAINMENT--REVIEW OF THE WORK 214

CHAPTER XV.

Prosperity.

1842-1843.

ABUNDANT SUPPLIES--RESTING ON THE WRITTEN WORD--SEEKING AND FINDING--ERRONEOUS IMPRESSIONS REMOVED--PERSEVERING AND PREVAILING PRAYER ANSWERED--LENGTHENING THE CORDS AND STRENGTHENING THE STAKES--A FOURTH ORPHAN HOUSE 241

CHAPTER XVI.

Stewardship.

1844.

EARTHLY AND HEAVENLY TREASURES--SEEKING THE KINGDOM OF GOD--FELLOWSHIP WITH THE FATHER--THE CHRISTIAN MERCHANT--EXAMPLES--MISTAKES 259

CHAPTER XVII.

Reaping Bountifully.

1845-1846.

AN UNEXPECTED REQUEST--DELIBERATION--A GREAT UNDERTAKING--RELIANCE ON THE RESOURCES OF THE LIVING GOD--AN ANSWER EXPECTED AND RECEIVED--PRAYER FOR FAITH AND PATIENCE--FURTHER PROOFS OF DIVINE FAVOR--THE BLESSEDNESS OF DEVISING LIBERAL THINGS 294

CHAPTER XVIII.

Faith Confirmed by Prosperity.

1846-1848.

THE SPIRIT OF SUPPLICATION BESTOWED AND PRAYER ANSWERED--THE TIME OF MAN’S NEED AND OF GOD’S BOUNTY--FAITH NOT SHAKEN--DEALING ONLY WITH GOD--THE NEEDED AMOUNT FURNISHED--PERPETUAL NEED--NOT WEARY IN GOD'S WORK--JOY IN ANSWERED PRAYER--FOUR REQUESTS GRANTED--CONTINUING INSTANT IN PRAYER--THE BUILDING COMMENCED--PERSONAL HISTORY--A MARKED DELIVERANCE 319

CHAPTER XIX.

Continued Mercies.

1848-1850.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS--DEVISING LIBERAL THINGS--THE ORPHANS PROVIDED FOR--A MEMORABLE DAY--MONEY AT INTEREST--MEANS FROM AN UNEXPECTED SOURCE--THE PROGRESS OF THE NEW ORPHAN HOUSE--MEANS PROVIDED FOR ITS COMPLETION--INEXPRESSIBLE DELIGHT IN GOD--REVIEW OF THE TWO YEARS PAST 347

CHAPTER XX.

A New Victory of Faith.

1850-1851.

PAST MERCIES AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO NEW UNDERTAKINGS--A HOUSE FOR SEVEN HUNDRED ORPHANS PROPOSED--WALKING BY FAITH--COUNSEL SOUGHT FROM GOD--THE PURPOSE FORMED--DELIGHT IN THE MAGNITUDE AND DIFFICULTY OF THE DESIGN 364

CHAPTER XXI.

Unvarying Prosperity.

1850-1852.

DESIRES FOR MORE ENLARGED USEFULNESS GRATIFIED--A LARGE DONATION ANTICIPATED AND RECEIVED--REVIEW OF 1851--PERSONAL EXPERIENCE--BUILDING FUND FOR THE SECOND NEW ORPHAN HOUSE--DOUBT RESISTED--WAITING ON GOD NOT IN VAIN--REVIEW OF 1852 389

CHAPTER XXII.

Reaping in Joy.

1852-1854.

EXPECTING GREAT THINGS FROM GOD--MUNIFICENT DONATION--INCREASING USEFULNESS OF THE SCRIPTURAL KNOWLEDGE INSTITUTION--ACCESS TO GOD THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST--A VOICE FROM MOUNT LEBANON--BENEFIT OF WAITING GOD’S TIME--CAREFUL STEWARDSHIP--FAITH, THE ONLY RELIANCE--THIS POOR WIDOW HATH CAST IN MORE THAN THEY ALL--GREATER ACHIEVEMENTS OF FAITH ANTICIPATED--COUNSEL TO TRACT DISTRIBUTORS--A NEW AND SEVERE TRIAL OF FAITH 402

CHAPTER XXIII.

Three Years of Prosperity.

1854-1857.

THE SITE SELECTED--SIX THOUSAND ORPHANS IN PRISON--HOW TO ASK FOR DAILY BREAD--REVIEW OF TWENTY-FOUR YEARS--TAKE NO THOUGHT FOR THE MORROW--INSURANCE AGAINST BAD DEBTS 426

CHAPTER XXIV.

Conclusion.

1857-1860.

THE HOUSE FOR FOUR HUNDRED OPENED--PRAYER MORE THAN ANSWERED--THE RESORT IN TROUBLE--AN OUTPOURING OF THE SPIRIT ON THE ORPHANS--LAND FOR A NEW BUILDING PURCHASED--BUT ONE LIFE TO SPEND FOR GOD--SCATTERING, YET INCREASING--A MEMORABLE YEAR--THE GERM OF THE IRISH REVIVAL--LETTER FROM AN ORPHAN--THE FRUIT OF SIX MONTHS’ PRAYER--THE RESULTS OF THE WORK--REVIVAL AMONG THE ORPHANS 446

APPENDIX 473

INTRODUCTION.

Table of Contents

What is meant by the prayer of faith? is a question which is beginning to arrest, in an unusual degree, the attention of Christians. What is the significance of the passages both in the New Testament and the Old which refer to it? What is the limit within which they may be safely received as a ground of practical reliance? Were these promises limited to prophetical or apostolical times; or have they been left as a legacy to all believers until the end shall come?

Somehow or other, these questions are seldom discussed either from the pulpit or the press. I do not remember to have heard any of them distinctly treated of in a sermon. I do not know of any work in which this subject is either theoretically explained or practically enforced. It really seems as if this portion of Revelation was, by common consent, ignored in all our public teachings. Do not men believe that God means what he appears plainly to have asserted? or, if we believe that he means it, do we fear the charge of fanaticism if we openly avow that we take him at his word?

The public silence on this subject does not, however, prevent a very frequent private inquiry in respect to it. The thoughtful Christian, when in his daily reading of the Scriptures he meets with any of those wonderful promises made to believing prayer, often pauses to ask himself, What can these words mean? Can it be that God has made such promises as these to me, and to such men as I am? Have I really permission to commit all my little affairs to a God of infinite wisdom, believing that he will take charge of them and direct them according to the promptings of boundless love and absolute omniscience? Is prayer really a power with God, or is it merely an expedient by which our own piety may be cultivated? Is it not merely a power (that is, a stated antecedent accompanied by the idea of causation), but is it a transcendent power, accomplishing what no other power can, over-ruling all other agencies, and rendering them subservient to its own wonderful efficiency? I think there are few devout readers of the Bible to whom these questions are not frequently suggested. We ask them, but we do not often wait for an answer. These promises seem to us to be addressed either to a past or to a coming age, but not to us, at the present day. Yet with such views as these the devout soul is not at all satisfied. If an invaluable treasure is here reserved for the believer, he asks, why should I not receive my portion of it? He cannot doubt that God has in a remarkable manner, at various times, answered his prayers; why should he not always answer them? and why should not the believer always draw near to God in full confidence that he will do as he has said? He may remember that the prayer which has been manifestly answered was the offspring of deep humility, of conscious unworthiness, of utter self-negation, and of simple and earnest reliance on the promises of God through the mediation of Christ. Why should not his prayers be always of the same character? With the apostles of old he pours out his soul in the petition, Lord, increase our faith.

And yet it can scarcely be denied that the will of God has been distinctly revealed on this subject. The promises made to believing prayer are explicit, numerous, and diversified. If we take them in their simple and literal meaning, or if in fact we give to them any reasonable interpretation whatever, they seem to be easily understood. Our difficulty seems to be this: the promise is so exceeding great that we cannot conceive God really to mean what he clearly appears to have revealed. The blessing seems too vast for our comprehension; we stagger at the promises, through unbelief, and thus fail to secure the treasure which was purchased for us by Christ Jesus.

It may be appropriate for us to review some of the passages which refer most directly to this subject:—

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him."[1]

In the Gospel of Luke the same words are repeated, with a single variation at the close. "If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him."[2]

I say unto you that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.[3]

"Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do that which is done to the fig-tree, but also ye shall say to this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea, and it shall be done. And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."[4]

The same promise, slightly varied in form, is found in the Gospel of Mark. "Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you that whosoever shall say to this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he hath said shall come to pass, he shall have whatever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, Whatsoever things ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."[5]

Now I do not pretend that we are obliged to receive these words literally. Unless, however, we believe the Saviour to have spoken repeatedly on the same subject, at random, and with no definite meaning, we must understand him to have asserted that things impossible by the ordinary laws of material causation are possible by faith in God. I do not perceive, if we allow these words to have any meaning whatever, that we can ascribe to them any other significance.

Verily I say unto you, He that believeth in me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name I will do it.[6]